Great Britain gets vaccinated faster – but something else caused fewer cases

In the first year of the epidemic, Britain was one of Europe’s problem children. Initially very carefree in dealing with the epidemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was close in his assessment Donald Trump And compared to his European counterparts Jair Bolzano, he has already returned after Brexit. Although own Govit-19His illness a London The head of government who brought in the intensive care unit drove the dodging course half-heartedly. With 127,000 victims of this mismanagement, the UK has the highest number of corona deaths today In Europe To complain about.

In early January 2021, Brexit Island appeared to be on its knees from the virus. In the southwest of the UK, around the metropolis of London, the clumsy P1.1.7 developed, which is significantly more contagious than the original corona virus. This variation is also responsible for the alarming growth of the third wave in Germany now, before it topped Europe, with numbers increasing in Great Britain: more than 600 7-day events, more than 50,000 new infections in several days and 500 deaths, a health system from the recession.

Two factors broke the third wave in the UK

But then Boris Johnson’s government was able to do something for the president Angela Merkel 16 federal prime ministers have failed miserably so far – Break the third wave. Two factors are crucial:

1. Strict locking

In the UK, a tight lock-in came into effect in early January, the main feature of which was actually the curfew order. The bright yellow warning sign “shelter” to each lecturer should actually be taken by the English: home office, where possible, Apartment Do not leave without good reason. Schools, shops, bars, sports facilities, cultural institutions … – everything that people from different homes can meet is closed. And regional governments Of Scotland And Wales followed suit and responded with locks very similar to B.1.1.7.

For months, the British have been living in Germany without murmuring with more severe locking measures than they have ever used. Although the Germans were allowed to fly unhindered in the sun, the English were private To travel Abroad is strictly prohibited. And will remain so for the time being.

2. Successful vaccination campaign

These vaccines were approved by Astrogeneca and Biotech with urgent approval and were immediately used with a certain amount of satisfaction in Brexit Great Britain. Now, in mid-April, the modern vaccine is being added.

In all, more than 32 million people in the UK have been vaccinated for the first time to date – more than half of adults. A good 7.5 million people have already paid the second dose needed for complete protection. Great Britain was rarely prevented by the fight over AstraZeneca. The other vaccine is now only available to those under 30 years of age.

According to the British government, all Britons over the age of 50 have already been vaccinated against corona. On 12 April the British government announced that it would be the first turn for those under 50 years of age. With.

German government spokesman Stephen Seibert commented somewhat wisely on the successful British vaccine campaign, pointing out that Great Britain received vaccines from the European Union, but also achieved this by not selling any vaccines for export.

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The downside is that locking and vaccination have led to the current situation:

• The seven-day event on April 14 in Great Britain was 17.3 – in Germany it was 153.2 at the same time, and a day later it was 160.1.
• The number of new infections registered daily has dropped to nearly 2,500 – in Germany they continue to rise to over 29,000 (RKI on April 15).
• The death toll from covids and deaths has dropped to 23 a day – in Germany, 294 people have died in the last 24 hours (RKI on April 15).
• There are still about 2,500 Covid 19 patients in British clinics – 4,688 in intensive care units in Germany alone.

Open step by step with precautions

In mid-February, when the situation in Great Britain had already deteriorated significantly, Prime Minister Boris Johnson showed his fellow citizens the way out of the lockout, which he described as “cautious but irreversible.” The strict corona restrictions in force from the beginning of this year will be phased out until July 2021, when all liberties will be restored to the British:

1. Open schools from March 8,
2. Outdoor catering, hairdresser and shopper, from April 12
3. Indoor food, museums and tours from May 17,
4. On June 21, all locking measures are to be removed.

They connect because people see perspectives

It is with such firm perspectives that the majority of people in Great Britain share more applicable restrictions, including limits on contact in the private sector. The 30 mourners recognized at Prince Philip’s funeral on April 17 are the maximum number allowed without exception for each funeral.

Occasionally anti-lock demos gather a few hundred protesters, but not the angry 10,000 citizens in this country. Incites illegal parties by young people Police However In the UK Every weekend. But in general the resistance is low. However, it soon became expensive on the island due to higher fines.

Openings will inevitably lead to more infections and deaths again. Not only epidemiologists are sure of this. The Prime Minister, who has grown a great deal of caution during epidemics, pointed this out during the recent relaxation. “If we open up, the inevitable result will be more infections again. This is compounded by further hospitalizations and deaths,” he told the BBC.

Johnson: Lockdown is the biggest anti-corona lever – not the vaccine

He dismissed it because the Royals were dead – but although he was expecting a beer on the opening day, he warned all visitors to follow the distance rules that apply there. Because: It was not the strict locks and vaccinations in Great Britain that primarily led to the reduction of infections.

This view is confirmed by Sebastian Funk, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. on Deutschlandfunk: “Hard locking has definitely made a difference. The effect is even stronger than with vaccines. He adds: “Vaccines now primarily protect against the harsh course, but locking is pushing back infections. ”

Therefore, the easing is linked to safety measures: the opening of schools is linked to regular corona tests, and holidaymakers should have a traffic light system that, accordingly, will vary depending on the infection situation at the travel site and the different strict testing and isolation rules. Also two houses and a maximum of six people are only allowed to go to the pub.

Last corona measures will be eliminated in Great Britain only if there is stable herd immunity. It will take some time. Since B.1.1.7 is the most contagious virus, 80 percent of the population must be immunocompromised. In the case of less contagious pathogens, experts say that a ratio of 60 to 70 percent is sufficient to protect the rest of the population from infection.

Is the herd close to immunity?

University of London College scientists have made a confident estimate that more than 70 per cent of the British population will be free of SARS-Cow-2 in mid-April: thanks to the rapid vaccination rate, every second British person has already received the first vaccine. Behind this, more than four million people are infected, resulting in immunizations, as well as ten percent with a natural immunity to the virus – giving it a 73.4 percent immunity rate.

However, other researchers are skeptical about the reliability of the modeling approach used to develop this analysis. This has already led to more optimistic corona predictions in the past.

However, scientists’ opinions and calculations play only an obedient role in the British government’s relaxation plans. If the vaccination rate can be maintained, herd immunity will be established faster in any case than in EU countries.